Hermantown's Travis Koepke (27), right, watches his tying goal go into the net against Breck goalie Henry Johnson, which sent the game into overtime. Hermantown won 4-3 in double overtime at Xcel Energy Center, Friday, March 8, 2013. At left is Breck's Jorgen Salveson. (Pioneer Press: Chris Polydoroff)

Stillwater sophomore goalie Josh Benson turns away Hill-Murray senior forward Josh French point blank shot in the third period of the section 5AA final at the State Fair Coliseum in Falcon Heights, Friday, February 28, 2014. (Pioneer Press: John Autey)

Edina's Connor Hurley scored a hat trick as Edina beat Lakeville North 9-3 in the State High School Class AA quarterfinals at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul on Thursday March 7, 2013. At left is Lakeville North's Angelo Altavilla, in goal is Will DuPont. (Pioneer Press: Scott Takushi)

The boys hockey state tournament begins its four-day run Wednesday at the Xcel Energy Center. Since 1945, the tournament has drawn a combined attendance of more than 5.4 million. Here is a behind-the-scenes look at the 70th edition of the state tournament:

CLASS 2A

Top-ranked Edina is defending its big-school championship and is the favorite to win a title for the ninth time. The Hornets (22-4-1) are 10-0-1 since losing to Hill-Murray 6-1 on Jan. 11, outscoring opponents by a 2-to-1 margin (111-50). Senior forward Miguel Fidler has 18 goals and 27 assists, and junior Dylan Malmquist has 14 goals and 25 assists.

— What a difference a year has made for Lakeville North (23-4-1). Last season, the Panthers qualified for the state tournament with an 11-16-1 record. They have righted themselves and are the No. 2 seed this week. Among the Panthers’ highlights this season are wins over fellow state tournament qualifiers Eden Prairie, Eagan (twice) and Duluth East. Jack Poehling has 28 goals and 23 assists, and brother Nick has 12 goals and 29 assists.

— Roseau (20-7-1) is in the tournament for the 34th time. The Rams have scored 46 power-play goals this season.

— Stillwater (16-10-2) upset No. 2 White Bear Lake and top-seeded Hill-Murray in the section playoffs to qualify for the tournament for the first time.

— Look out for Centennial goalie Blake Miller. He made 38 saves in the Cougars’ upset win over top-seeded Blaine in the Section 5AA final. Miller, a midfielder on Centennial’s soccer team, scored two goals in the Cougars’ 2-1 victory over Blaine last fall in the soccer playoffs when the Bengals were also the top seed.

— Eagan junior goalie Andrew Lindgren has a .933 save percentage.

— Familiar trip down Interstate 35: Duluth East is in the state tournament for the sixth consecutive season and 21st overall.

CLASS A

Hermantown can’t gripe anymore about St. Thomas Academy.

The small-school runner-up the past four seasons openly complained about STA’s presence in the Class A bracket, and it didn’t help that the Hawks lost to the Cadets the past three years. STA moved up a class this season, losing to Eagan in the Class 2A Section 3 final.

Hermantown (22-4-2) has qualified for the tournament for the fifth consecutive season and was awarded the No. 2 seed. The Hawks are capable of returning to the championship circle for the first time since 2007. Junior center Ryan Kero has 21 goals and 28 assists, and junior wing Nate Pionk added 22 goals and 26 assists.

— East Grand Forks (25-2-1) earned the top seed, in part because of two victories over Roseau, which is in the Class 2A field. Junior forward Reed Corbid leads the Green Wave with 16 goals and 26 assists. Junior center Dixon Bowen has 17 goals and 20 assists. Eleven days ago, the Green Wave were the top seed in the Class A girls hockey tournament and finished runner-up to Blake.

— Luverne (27-0-1) is unbeaten — but unseeded in its state tournament debut. The Cardinals have a 32 percent success rate on the power play.

— Chisago Lakes (20-8-1) is in the state tournament for the first time since 1995. Senior forward Brandon Gillespie has 25 goals and 26 assists.

— Orono (19-8-1) was state runner-up in 2004.

— The final small-school quarterfinal between Totino-Grace (17-10-1) and St. Cloud Cathedral (20-7-1) is a rematch of a game played Jan. 25. St. Cloud Cathedral won 5-4.

FIRST THINGS FIRST

Totino-Grace senior defenseman Carter Lyons is putting off surgery to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament so he can play in the tournament. Lyons continues to play by wearing a brace to give his knee some stability.

In a 5-4 overtime victory over Mahtomedi in the Class A-Section 4 final, he scored the tying goal with less than five minutes remaining in regulation. He then assisted on the winner in overtime that sent the Eagles to the state tournament for the first time since 2005, when Totino-Grace was the small-school runner-up to Warroad.

“He’s a gutsy kid. There’s no question about that,” Totino-Grace activities director Mike Smith said. “He either ends his career with surgery or things work out like they have. He’s having a blast and making memories.”

CAN YOU HEAR THEM KNOCKING?

Roseau’s Alex Strand has 199 career points (83 goals, 116 assists) and can become the 68th player in Minnesota boys hockey history to reach 200 for his career. During the season, Spencer Naas of Benilde-St. Margaret’s (271 points) and Avery Peterson of Grand Rapids (203) joined the club.

Here are Minnesota’s top 10 all-time leading scorers:

1. Ben Hanowski, Little Falls, 2009 graduate, 405 points

2. John Pohl, Red Wing, 1998, 378

3. Dave Spehar, Duluth East, 1996, 304

4. Joey Benik, St. Francis, 2010, 283

5. Gino Guyer, Greenway, 2002, 282

6. John Mayasich, Eveleth, 1951, 273

7. Grant Besse, Benilde-St. Margaret’s, 2013, 272

8. Aaron Broten, Roseau, 1979, 269

(tie), Corey Carlson, Two Harbors/Greenway, 2003, 269

10. T.J. Roo, Totino-Grace, 2013, 264

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